The program plans to offer counseling for entrepreneurs, who get six months of unemployment benefits while they launch startups.

The program has gained national attention for its track record in the economic downturn, with Portland mobile technology startup Urban Airship as its star success. Urban Airship now employs 120 in Portland, about four years after the company's founders enrolled in the Self Employment program and presented their initial business plan.

Self Employment Assistance has been around since 1995 in Oregon. Officials say the program gives entrepreneurs a chance to focus on their business and work to make it profitable. People enrolled in the program are exempt from looking for work, a key requirement of regular state benefits.

Brand Stories

BY KATRINA WALKER

Generations of students and graduates have been plagued by the question: What is my true calling in life? Four alumni from Corban University’s Hoff School of Business who graduated in different decades say the school helped them find the answer by giving them a practical, well-rounded education.

It’s happening whether anyone’s ready or not. Businesses here in Oregon and across the U.S. are already experiencing the effects of the largest generational shift in recent history, and these changing tides will impact every level of the workplace — from a company’s executive leadership to its cultural core.

The Oregon Chapter of the Society for Marketing Professional Services, will be hosting it’s Annual Dinner and Keynote event on March 12, 2015. The evening promises to be memorable, with this years Keynote, Christine McKinley.